The countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic committed this Wednesday to design public policies that incorporate intellectual property as a key axis in the development of the region.
This was established at the VII Ministerial Meeting on Intellectual Property, held in Santo Domingo, with the participation of ministers and deputy ministers of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the host country in a statement.
The meeting was closed by the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Daren Tang, who expressed the willingness of that organization to collaborate and support the authorities of the countries gathered on intellectual property issues.
Tang pointed out that these issues would be mainly related to tourism, archaeological, cultural and musical heritage, as well as to the production of coffee, bananas and rum, characteristic activities of Central America and the Caribbean.
The Dominican Minister of Industry, Commerce and Mipymes, Víctor Bisonó, highlighted that one of the main actions that the country is carrying out to strengthen intellectual property is to promote the national strategy of modern services.
This tool, said the official, has served to improve the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, as well as to reduce the formalities in the registration of trademarks and other distinctive signs and the designation of origin that was achieved for Dominican rum.
“The promotion, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights play a key role in developing projects with economic and social potential that impact all levels of Dominican society,” said Bisonó.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Development of Nicaragua, José de Jesús Bermúdez, and the Secretary of State for Science and Technology of Honduras, Luther Castillo Harry.
Guatemala was represented by the Vice Minister of Economy, Roberto René Alonzo; Panama’s Minister of Domestic Trade and Industry, Omar Edgardo Montilla; Costa Rica’s Minister of Peace, Jairo Vargas, and the Director General of Innovation and Competitiveness of El Salvador’s Ministry of Economy, Andrea Pérez de Novoa.
Other speakers included Marcos Alemán, Deputy Director General of WIPO; Diego Aulestia, Head of the Human Settlements Unit of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); and Duayner Salas Chaverri, Secretary of Integration of Central America, from Guatemala.
